US drilling rig count gains 21 units to above 2,000

Jan. 20, 2012
US oil and gas drilling rig activity this week increased by 21 units to reach 2,008 total rigs working. The rig count for the week ended Jan. 20 was up by 295 from the comparable period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

US oil and gas drilling rig activity this week increased by 21 units to reach 2,008 total rigs working. The rig count for the week ended Jan. 20 was up by 295 from the comparable period a year ago, Baker Hughes Inc. reported.

Drilling operations on land made up a majority of this gain, up 18 units to 1,947 rigs working. There were 45 rigs drilling offshore, 2 more than a week ago. All of these were drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Rigs drilling in inland waters totaled 16, up 1 unit from last week.

Of the US rigs working, rigs drilling for oil made a 32-unit leap from a week ago to reach 1,223 drilling. Rigs drilling for gas for the week ended Jan. 20 lost 11 rigs to reach 780. There were 5 rotary rigs unclassified, the same as the previous week.

At 206 rigs, directional drilling activity was down by 7 units from the previous week. Horizontal drilling increased by 22 rigs to a total of 1,183 working.

Oklahoma had the largest gain this week, up 9 units to 197 rigs working. North Dakota and Wyoming were up 4 rigs each to respective counts of 186 and 51. Colorado, at 73, was up 2. Pennsylvania and West Virginia, down 1 rig each, reached counts of 116 and 27, respectively. Arkansas, at 33, and Alaska, at 7, were both unchanged from a week ago. New Mexico and California, at 79 and 46, respectively, were down 1 rig each. Down 2 rigs were Texas, 923, and Louisiana, 146.

Canada’s rig count shot up another 43 units from a week ago, reaching 654. This is up 33 units from the same period a year ago.

About the Author

Steven Poruban | Managing Editor-News

Steven Poruban was hired as staff writer for Oil & Gas Journal in October 1998. Two years later, he was promoted to senior staff writer. In October 2004, he was then promoted to senior editor. He now serves as managing editor-news.

Before working for OGJ, Steven was a reporter for Gas Daily and editor of Gas Transportation Report. He attended Boston University then transferred to and graduated from Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., with a BA in English in 1993.